and the winner is......

And the winner of the beautiful cobalt blue tagine is DOROTHY ERICKSON!

Thanks to everyone for participating. And as a thank you gift to everyone who participated, here's one of my favorite recipe for a tagine. Yes, we will most definitely be making it during my class in Marrakech in October.

Enjoy and again congratulations Dorothy!

LAMB TAGINE WITH ARTICHOKES, PRESERVED LEMONS AND OLIVES

2 pounds lean lamb stew meat, cut from the leg or shoulder, trimmed
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/4 cup minced yellow onion
2 tablespoons vegetable, safflower, sunflower or corn salad oil
1 ½ teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon saffron threads
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ cup lemon juice
12 small artichokes or 4 medium artichokes
2 preserved lemons
1/2 cup Kalamata olives, pitted
Fresh cilantro sprigs as a garnish

Place the lamb, parsley, garlic, onion, oil, paprika, cumin, saffron, salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Cover with 4 cups water and bring to a boil over high heat. As soon as it comes to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the meat is very tender and the sauce has reduced to a thick gravy, 1 1/2 to 2 hours or Add water, if necessary, during the cooking time if the sauce gets too thick. Add 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice and season with additional salt and pepper, if needed.

To prepare the artichokes, cut off the top half of the leaves. Tear off the outside dark and medium green leaves until you get to the light green tender leaves. Trim the torn edges. Trim the stem end. Cut each artichoke in half from top to bottom. If you are using small or baby artichokes they are ready. For medium or large artichokes, using a spoon, scoop out the furry light green choke from the center of the artichoke. Cut into quarters. Place in a large bowl of cold water with 4 tablespoons of the lemon juice.

When the lamb is tender, place the artichokes on top of the lamb. Rinse the preserve lemons and dice. Place on top of the artichokes. Cover and cook until the artichokes are tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Add the olives and sprinkle the stew with the remaining 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Simmer 2 minutes.

To serve, remove the cover and garnish with cilantro.

Serves 6